Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 24, 1994 TAG: 9403240278
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By KRISTEN KAMMERER SPECIAL TO THE ROANOKE TIMES & WORLD-NEWS
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Jostens program, known as "The Big Idea," awards $2,000 grants to students from universities across the country who submit outstanding ideas for "tackl[ing], critical social issues and ... implement[ing] innovative service projects in their campus communities."
The proposals, including a project design, time line and budget, are evaluated on the basis of their originality, repeatability, collaborative spirit and relation to the students' academic and career goals. This year, Jostens selected 10 projects, from more than 100 countries, to receive funding.
Heckman's winning idea is to reintegrate a former debris landfill on Tech's campus into the surrounding landscape and to use this site as an environmental education facility for schools and community organizations.
Restoration ecology - the science behind restoring degraded or over-used land - is Heckman's field of study. One purpose of his project is research and experimentation. However, because of the proximity of the site to many high schools and colleges, it offers an opportunity to involve many students and volunteers in hands-on field work.
"Usually, restoration sites aren't located near populated areas," Heckman says. "But with this one being so accessible, we could really get the community involved in the project so that they can cooperate with the people at Tech who are working toward a goal which will do nothing but better the Blacksburg area. It's a win-win situation."
Throughout the area's restoration, to begin this spring, many volunteers will be needed to help survey the area, sample native vegetation and plant grasses, wildflowers and trees. Heckman also hopes to have volunteers conduct tours and help coordinate educational programs. Through this exposure to cutting-edge research, students and members of neighboring communities will learn the principles of restoration ecology and gain an awareness of the complexity and importance of this science.
"What I'd like the project to convey," Heckman says, "is that a tree is not just a pretty thing you see by the side of the road. The ecosystems around us provide things we use every day, and it is important that we restore them whenever possible using techniques and methods [that will] maximize the benefit to the greater community."
While restoration ecology is a relatively young science, its central land-management theme is not new to Heckman. Growing up in Cairo, Neb., Heckman witnessed intensive land management firsthand. "Every last acre in Nebraska is accounted for and has a specific use," Heckman said. "I didn't know what wilderness was. To me, land was something valuable because of what it could produce."
After earning a degree in biology from Nebraska Wesleyan College, Heckman's interest in land studies took him to the Rocky Mountain Biology Lab in Crested Butte, Colo. There, he met John Cairns, a restoration ecologist and a professor at Virginia Tech. Cairns' studies interested Heckman, and he subsequently applied for and received a Cunningham Scholarship to pursue his doctoral degree at Tech. After graduation, he wants to work as an ecologist either in a research-intensive organization or at a university. He believes the restoration project will give him invaluable experience for his future endeavors.
by CNB